Therapist in Santa Clarita, CA | EMDR, Art & Somatic Therapy
I work with young adults in their twenties and thirties who are often the ones everyone else relies on, while quietly running on empty themselves. Many of my clients are navigating career changes, shifting relationships, and family patterns that shaped their sense of self long before they had any say in the matter. My work is grounded in trauma informed care, drawing on EMDR, somatic tools, and art therapy for the moments when talking alone doesn't reach far enough. A decolonial, culturally grounded lens shapes everything I do, because your family history and cultural background matter as much as what's happening today. I built this practice for people who are ready to stop holding everything together by themselves.
Many of the families I work with live in the Valencia master planned community, raising kids or building careers in a neighborhood designed around convenience and routine. Others are connected to College of the Canyons, either as students or as parents navigating that stage of their own kid's life, while some spend weekends near the Santa Clara River or make the occasional trip to Six Flags Magic Mountain for a break from routine. This is one of the fastest growing, most family oriented suburbs north of Los Angeles, and that identity shapes a lot of what shows up in my sessions. Whether someone's rooted in Valencia or elsewhere in the area, family expectations tend to run underneath everything.
Growing up in or raising a family within a community built around structure and routine can create its own quiet pressure, the expectation that things should simply run smoothly because the setting suggests they will. For clients also carrying cultural or generational patterns that never got discussed openly, that gap between appearance and internal reality becomes exhausting to manage alone. My practice exists to name that gap directly, offering a space where things don't have to look fine to be taken seriously. Clients often choose to stay in this work because it's the first time therapy has actually met them where they really are.
How it works
My approach starts with your whole story
My approach is trauma informed at its core, meaning we look closely at how your nervous system adapted to stress long before you had words for any of it. EMDR is central to how I work, alongside somatic awareness and creative tools for moments when conversation alone isn't enough. A decolonial lens runs through everything, so we're always considering the cultural and family systems shaping your experience rather than isolating your struggles from their context. Genuine curiosity, not a rigid method, guides where each session goes.
Book a discovery call
Starting therapy with me looks like a real conversation, not a clinical process to get through. I want to understand what's actually going on, what's already been tried, and what real change would look like for you. There's nothing evaluative about this first step. From there, we shape a plan together that fits your actual life, not a generic outline applied to everyone.
What ongoing work actually looks like
As the work continues, clients build tools they genuinely use in daily life, not insight that fades once the session is over. They gain clarity on which parts of their identity are truly their own versus inherited from family or culture, and they develop a steadier relationship with themselves that holds up under real pressure. Many of my Santa Clarita clients have tried therapy before and felt like it didn't stick. Here, it finally does.
Explore my therapy services and specializations
You might be holding everything together for everyone else while feeling quietly unmoored yourself. Career pressure, relationship dynamics, and the ongoing work of figuring out who you are apart from family expectations can build up fast, especially if you've spent years being the dependable one.
In session, we slow that buildup down. We name what's actually happening beneath the surface, trace where certain patterns first formed, and build tools that hold up in real life, not just in theory.
Clients often notice they've stopped bracing for the next thing to go wrong. That shift toward genuine ease, instead of constant readiness, is usually one of the first signs the work is landing.
If something from your past keeps resurfacing no matter how much you've already thought it through, that's not a personal failure. It usually means your nervous system got stuck at some point and hasn't fully caught up to the fact that you're safe now.
EMDR works with that stuck place directly, rather than only through talking around it. You don't need to walk through every detail of what happened for it to be effective, which is genuinely a relief for people tired of retelling their own story.
I let EMDR unfold at whatever pace actually fits you. Many clients describe the result as things finally quieting down, less reactivity, and more steadiness in the present moment.
Some experiences resist language completely, no matter how much insight you've already built around them. Art therapy offers a different way in, one that doesn't require finding the right words first.
Working through image or material lets what's underneath surface on its own terms, sometimes before you can fully name it. That takes real pressure off needing to intellectualize your feelings before you're allowed to feel them.
No artistic background is required for this, and nothing gets judged. It's simply another entry point into the same honest process, especially useful on days when talking feels out of reach.
You can understand exactly why you feel a certain way and still feel it show up in your body anyway, the tight chest before a hard conversation, the racing thoughts before you try to sleep. Somatic therapy meets that experience directly where it lives instead of only working through it verbally.
We build real time awareness of physical sensation, learning to notice tension or anxiety before it fully takes hold. Over time, that awareness means feeling less controlled by automatic stress responses and more able to stay grounded through hard moments.
This work pairs naturally with EMDR and talk therapy, giving you something concrete to carry into daily life, whether we meet here in Santa Clarita or connect virtually.
PTSD doesn't always look like what people expect. Sometimes it shows up as constant unease, avoiding certain situations without a clear explanation, or memories surfacing at the most inconvenient moments. None of that reflects poorly on you. It reflects a nervous system that adapted to protect you and hasn't caught up to the present.
Safety and pacing guide everything in this work. You're never required to describe every detail out loud for it to be effective, and we move only as quickly as genuinely feels manageable.
What tends to happen over time is a real, lasting shift, not erasing what happened, but the past no longer running the present. Many clients doubt that's possible at first, and helping them get there is some of the most meaningful work I do.
Childhood trauma doesn't need one dramatic event to be real. Many of my most capable clients grew up with a parent who couldn't handle their own emotions, let alone anyone else's, or a family system where keeping things smooth mattered more than being honest.
This work moves slowly and carefully, always. Safety comes first, and there's no rushing toward a pace that doesn't fit you. The goal is helping your nervous system finally release what it's been holding onto, rather than simply talking around it.
Over time, clients begin reclaiming their story in a way that includes what happened without letting it define their whole identity. Being part of that reclaiming is one of the most meaningful parts of this work.
For some teens, individual sessions only cover part of what they need, and being around peers facing something similar changes everything about the experience. Group therapy helps teens realize they aren't the only one dealing with anxiety, family pressure, or the weight of growing up fast.
These groups are structured to feel genuinely safe, not like a performance in front of watching adults. Many teens find it easier to accept support from people their own age than from anyone older.
It's a space where struggling doesn't make you the outlier, and where connection, not correction, stays the point.
Many of the patterns I help adults work through took shape earlier in life, which is part of why I also work with teenagers already carrying more than they should have to. That might look like anxiety, tension at home, or quietly managing everyone else's moods before their own.
Teens tend to open up once they feel genuinely respected instead of managed. Sessions give them real language for what they're experiencing before it turns into a long term pattern, and parents often notice their teen starting to name feelings instead of just reacting to them.
This work meets teens where they actually are developmentally, not where they're expected to be, whether we meet in person or virtually.
Who I serve
My practice serves clients throughout Santa Clarita, including the Valencia community, areas near College of the Canyons, and neighborhoods along the Santa Clara River, as well as surrounding communities north of Los Angeles. I offer in-person sessions here in Santa Clarita and virtual sessions for clients anywhere in California who prefer to meet remotely. The map below shows the surrounding service area.
Hi, I'm Cristina Lugo — LCSW therapist specializing in young adults
I'm a licensed psychotherapist specializing in EMDR, working with Gen Z and young millennial clients throughout Santa Clarita and the surrounding area. As a Puerto Rican American therapist, I bring genuine insight into navigating layered cultural identities and family systems that weren't always built with individual needs in mind. My Santa Clarita practice is meant to feel like the grounded, honest space I always wished had existed. This work was never about fixing you. It's about helping you find your way back to the version of yourself that existed before you learned to keep everyone else comfortable.
FAQ about my services
What is the best type of therapy for young adults and teenagers?
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. The most effective therapy depends on your stage of life, identity, and needs. EMDR, mindfulness, ACT, and creative approaches can all be helpful when tailored to you.
Do you offer therapy in person? What about virtual? Which one is better?
I prefer in-person therapy because it creates a stronger sense of connection at my Pasadena office. Virtual sessions are also available for convenience, and some clients even choose a mix of both.
Do you take insurance?
I am considered out-of-network. Many PPO plans reimburse part of the cost, and I provide monthly superbills so you can request reimbursement directly from your insurance company.
What is your cancellation policy?
I ask for at least 24 hours’ notice if you need to cancel. If we can’t reschedule in the same week, the full session fee will apply.
Do you offer a sliding scale?
I believe that therapy should be within reach, regardless of what life throws your way. I offer a community-minded sliding scale for individuals affected by systemic stressors, financial strain, or unexpected crises. If this applies to you, please let me know. Together we’ll make a plan that supports your healing while honoring the sustainability of my practice.